Zegna suit $600 - Nordstroms Rack... good deal?? Any other cheaper Italian suits?

[drew4392]

I'm reading as much as I can and learning quite a bit. I've made some progress, as about 2 days ago I thought Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein suits were 'great'.......

So, I went to my local Nordstroms Rack and saw a 41L (perfect fit) Zegna suit for $600. Its a bit more than my pricepoint, but fit and felt great. I also tried on a Canali suit ($200- already altered), and it felt great. However, it fit like crap and the color wasnt great.

Is $600 for a Zegna suit a good price? I think I remember these suits going for over $1k. And yes, I know, I'm not going to sling the suit, so what does it matter what the original retail was... as long as it fits well and it betters my wardrobe...

WHAT a difference between an Italian suit and a chinese suit. Night and day.

Are there less expensive Italian suits I can look for? I'm trying to stay around $250ea. Do I need to raise the budget?


Thanks!!

 

[Vittorio J]

If you bump up your budget a few 100 bucks you can get a custom suit from one of the HK players in the market...You should be looking for a suit with the perfect fit over anything else...almost all the custom shops carry all the high end fabric makers so don't worry about the quality of fabric...I think you are focusing too much on brand....

 

[yo!]

Originally Posted by drew4392

...it felt great. However, it fit like crap and the color wasnt great.

Hang around this forum much more and you will realize that the way the suit feels (as in touch it with your hand) means absolutely nothing.

The way the suit fits is 90% of the solution.

 

[lpresq]

What line is the Zegna...Z or mainline? Also, this might sound elementary, but is this a true Zegna suit or a suit made with Zegna fabric.

 

[drew4392]

Ipresq- It had a Norstroms tag on it stating a retail price of $2200. Not sure what that means, though...

Yo! - Yea, I'm getting that feeling. Fit seems to be most everything.

Vittorio J - Are you referring to something like Thick as Thieves? Pricepoint is around $450, right?



I can see how I might be focusing on brand too much. Perhaps I should either go with a TaT (or custom somewhere else) or walk into a 3-day Suit Broker and get something that fits really well.

This website is either the best thing, or the worst thing that happened...! Now I have the itch...

 

[Zegnamtl]

When you go back, pull the fabric tag from the pocket of the jacket. In the lower left corner there is a box, with the letters: ZZ EZ ZC if it says EZ, go for it if the fit is as good as you recall it being. if it says ZZ.......not such a great deal. Still better than a Boss or the junk you say you wore last. if it says ZC (which it won't, but just in case), go straight to the cash and pay. You are most likely not ready to take a chance on a Hong Kong made bespoke or MTM or custom, wait and little for that step. Keep us posted. I just saw your post after mine:

Originally Posted by drew4392

......It had a Norstroms tag on it stating a retail price of $2200. Not sure what that means, though... This website is either the best thing, or the worst thing that happened...! Now I have the itch...
That will be an EZ. I like them, they fit well and feel great to wear but at full retail they are too expensive. At 600, I think you will enjoy wearing the suit. On the tag, there will be letter defining the fabric group, the higher the letter in the alphabet, the better the cloth. This site can be both the best thing and the worst! :--)

 

[Vittorio J]

If you are located in the NYC are then I recommend two custom shops...

NOTE: I do business with both shops...so this might be biased...However, I know them very well and I know the quality of the product is great since I have suits made by both..

The first is Michael Andrews Bespoke in the lower east side: www.michaelandrewsbespoke.com

and the other is Imparali Custom Tailors next to Rockefeller Center:
www.imparali.com

As long as it FITS great...you will look great...just make sure you don't pick a funky looking fabric...classics are always a good choice...

 

[lpresq]

Ipresq- It had a Norstroms tag on it stating a retail price of $2200. Not sure what that means, though...QUOTE]

Be careful. . . . Outlets tend to carry their own suit line using Zegna fabric (Saks Off 5th does this frequently). If this is the case, I would not purchase the suit. Make sure the suit is actually under the Zegna label at the very least!! That said, I tend to gravitate toward brands over unknown bespoke, as I've heard and witnessed horror stories working with these "master tailors." Although Bespoke receives high regards on the site, my experience has not been the same. Fyi, look at how many threads start with "Does this shirt fit?" or "How does this suit fit?" With high-end brands, the cut is always suitable and alterations, if needed, are never vast.

 

[scwtlover]

Thanks, Zegnamtl, for the heads up regarding Zegna tag information. But I'm still somewhat confused.

I have a (still returnable) Zegna that I bought at Filene's Basement for c. $625. It carries a store price tag -- Mitchells in Conn. -- of $2,395.

The jacket pocket tag has a box just above the lower-left corner called "marca" with a Z. Below that is a box called "et cli" with a ZC. The "tessuto" is 622300 D.

What do I have?

TIA

 

[Zegnamtl]

I am on the road, I need to see the tag to be sure not to error.
If you do a quick search, a SF member (I don't recall who at the moment) went to great length to post a Zegna Fabric tag thread about a year ago or so. That should help you.

 

[drew4392]

I'll stop by today and take a look. I'm curious to see what it is...

 

[Douglas]

Many people on here will tell you that a Zegna suit isn't worth $600. Many of them find Ralph Lauren suits for less, and they like their construction and patterns better.

I am not one of those people. I have several Zegna suits and I find that their Fit Rom model is a great look and fit for me. I would gladly pay $600 for one. If it is a genuine Zegna suit and you like it, I think it's worth every penny. Just make sure that it's a good, classic color you can get a lot of wear out of - I've made the mistake of buying some really neat, fun suits that just aren't that versatile and don't get a lot of wear as a result. I am assuming this is a navy with some sort of variegated or multiple stripe, as that is what normally makes its way to the discount stores.

With that original price of around $2400, I am in agreement that it sounds like mainline Zegna. The tag should say Zegna or Ermenegildo Zegna somewhere on the inside chest quite plainly. There should not be a large Z shadowed behind the word Zegna, which would make it Z Zegna. Do you know how to make out the difference between a fused and canvassed jacket? If it is fused, it is Z Zegna or it is a house brand of some sort using Zegna fabrics. If it is canvassed, it is mainline Zegna or Zegna Couture (their high-end line). If the sleeves are basted (e.g. sleeve buttons not sewn on yet) it is likely Zegna Couture.

Look closely for that simple Zegna label though. If what you see instead is a smaller blue label with some sort of gold, red, and blue circular emblem (sorry, I'm going by memory here) indicating Zegna fabrics, it is likely that just the fabric was made by Zegna, and the tailoring was done by a third party, whom they often try to conceal.

Good luck!

 

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by yo!

Hang around this forum much more and you will realize that the way the suit feels (as in touch it with your hand) means absolutely nothing.

I'm sorry, but this is stupid.

The hand of the fabric is definitely not everything, and occasionally a suit with a superb hand, such as some of the more exotic supers, has durability tradeoffs and drawbacks. But the way the fabric feels has much greater importance than "absolutely nothing."

It's a bit like saying the paint job on a BMW means absolutely nothing as long as it drives well and is comfortable to sit in.

 

[Cary Grant]

Originally Posted by Douglas

I'm sorry, but this is stupid.

The hand of the fabric is definitely not everything, and occasionally a suit with a superb hand, such as some of the more exotic supers, has durability tradeoffs and drawbacks. But the way the fabric feels has much greater importance than "absolutely nothing."

It's a bit like saying the paint job on a BMW means absolutely nothing as long as it drives well and is comfortable to sit in.

Agree completely.

 

[scwtlover]

The thread to which zegnamtl refers may be:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ht=zegna+label